Pride - Arc 1
Prologue November 1st, 2045 Location unknown I sheathe my blade as I pick up my speed once more. The sound of my footsteps echoed eerily throughout the darkened halls. I was entirely highlighted by the dim green glimmering that radiated from the ceiling above me. My legs and feet were covered in what seemed to be an amalgamation of slime, muckus, cobwebs and bone white femur fragments. "My god, the smell in this place. -So- not me." I huffed as I kept sprinting forward. I mean, I am not used to this kind of exposure. This tainted smell pierced my nose in the most horrid ways. And then there was this bone-chilling cold, like a soft winter wind, barely there yet frigid as hell. I came to a grinding halt as I heard the walls shift around me. The shades of green disappeared, the light flickering around me as I start dashing from side to side, trying to find an exit or another path forward. 'WHACK!' My face slams most ungracefully into the wall in front of me, and I tumble backwards, trying to catch myself as I fall to the cold, slimey ground. "Miserable necropolis!" I curse as I dust myself off and slowly trace my steps backwards. I swear, I could sense something moving around me. It irked me, twitching my nerves. I hear that evil, ghastly laugh swirling around me, echoing off the interior walls. I can feel the ground rumble again as I start to clench my right hand around the hilt of my sword. "...Your future... it lies elsewhere... intertwined with the downfall of us all..." I perk my ears as I rear my head, taking a knee. What did this voice speak of? I try to focus on my spellcrafting as I search the hallways around me for possible exit routes. Safe to say, the entire place was securely locked with ancient spells that countered mine. It was impossible for me to carve out a lay-out of this labyrinth in my mind. There were too many variables to begin with, and the spells guarding the halls made it too difficult to unlock the right path forward. "...shard of the past...glance of silver...far within the abyss..." I try to search the in-game map, but this place was scrambling my interface options. As if this entire section was never meant to be here, like some huge glitch. My eyes start catching faint yet haunting movements down the corridors around me, sillhouettes of disfigured arms reaching out towards me from within the stone of the necropolis. "...to Meloxxramas you shall return...alone yet in company...power before pride, pride before power..." The hands suddenly start charging for me. I let out a panicked yelp as I immediatly turn to make a run for it. My chase for the exit was accompanied by the eerie laughter of what seemed to be a million souls. I slide around the corner, and can practically taste my freedom as I see the portal chamber ahead of myself. Within a matter of seconds, my hand is firmly placed on the translocating crystal, and I feel myself being warped out of Meloxxramas. "...Sylvaine..." Chapter 1 ...The room around me stops twisting abruptly, and I feel myself shooting towards my front door. Unwillingly, my hand turns the knob. I try to fight whatever is controlling me, but it seems my efforts are for nothing. My heavy feet drag me inside, every step bringing an echoing boom through the house. '' ''The curtains in the living room are swept aside, flowing hysterically in the wind coming through the open window. The rain has formed several puddles in the room, slowly inching forward. I know I'm walking through the water right now, but no sound is heard and my feet are numb, the coldness of the substance not even felt on my skin. I hear the house creak, and the stairs start to twist and turn, misshaping constantly as I climb them. My breathing starts to reach a horrid climax as I climb further and further. '' ''The lights keep flickering. That, or it's the thunder outside. I look down from the corner of my eyes and see the broken glass littered across the carpet, mixed with various stains. The stains themselves seem to be what I feared it was: blood. It clings to my toes, and starts to boil beneath me. I avert my eyes, not willing to look down again. I don't even care if I cut my feet open with the glass. All I am worried about is what is ahead in the room I'm nearing. "...Hello?" My dry, rasping voice sounds, a distant and fruitless call, filled with desperation. I know what is coming. I've seen this before, it is all so real. '' ''"...N-n... NO!" I call out as I try to rush into the room. My hands reach for him, but won't come any further than the doorstep. My feet are bound to the floor, as if dead weight to me. My cries turn into gagging, chocking efforts to draw air, my face surmounted with endless teardrops. '' ''I see him in front of me. I spot the blade next to his bed. The bottle of aged wine. The stains on his bed. The broken chair. The wind ruffling his hair. I can almost taste his scent, yet then again it seems so unfamiliar all the sudden. Can I still know the difference between what is real and what isn't? Has my illucid mind taken advantage? It can't be, I know this. I know I do! '' ''"...NOOOOOOOO!!!" --- "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" I sweep myself upright, rid with sweat and panting for air. My hands shoot to my nightstand, grabbing the plastic shopping bag I lay out every evening. Immediatly I set my lips to the bag and start breathing into it rapidly. The sudden surge of adrenaline and fear slowly seep away as the tears kick in once again. I slowly lower myself back into bed, my hands cupping my face as I feel the breeze entering my room. ...Another dream... they seem to never end anymore... --- "Sylvaine...?" "...Sylvaine? Are you here with us Sylvaine?" "....huh?- Oh, yes, sorry ma'am." I hear the bell ring, class is over. I shake my head, pack my bags and leave the classroom as quickly as possible. I storm my way through the corridors of the school, many students looking at me as I dash past them. "Isn't that her?" "Yeah, it's Sylvaine alright. Should I talk to her?" "No way, she won't even notice you." I ignore the murmuring around me and head up the stairs. This is where the janitor holds his breaks, he's one of the few people with the keys after all. Too bad I got my hands on those particular keys. Not that he minds, after all, not after I demanded to be left alone up here. The door to the roof of the school swings open, and I fling my bag aside as I head for the railing. This felt good. I was all alone up here, nobody who would annoy me. I could peer down at the world and watch life go by. I could observe how my fellow students would scurry around, living out their teenage life. It was all so generic, all so boring. You'd see the typical boy behind the school alley confessing to his crush, or you'd spot the popular girl squad parading around, or you'd even catch a glimpse of the geek club busy reading naughty magazines. I turned around, leaned back and sat down. From my bag, I grabbed my mobile phone and my notebook. I had some work to do. School was trivial stuff right now. I had more pressing matters. Before I turn on my phone again, my eyes fall upon the title I drew into my book some time ago. "Horseman." I say calmly as I shrug. A title bestowed onto me by the players of End War Online. It had a peculiar ring to it. It grew on me over time. Horseman? More like Horsewoman. And to think I was compared to three other buffoons who had some... 'quality' within them that set them apart from the rest of the playerbase. In my eyes, they were just as plain and simple as the rest of them. I open my notebook with one hand, the other shoots for my phone, which upon activation opened a holographic display of a website I frequented. I shift myself so I can watch both my writing as the hologram at the same time, and I start typing. "Meloxx...ramas..." I slowly spell out for myself as I open up several tabs in order to do my research. Since yesterday, I've been obsessed with the place. Not that I'd go back anytime soon, I knew better than that. Sure, I am powerful and all, but I know when I have met an adversary beyond my control for the time being. I look down at my notebook, and study the notes I took yesterday. "Intertwined with the downfall of us all?" I perk my brow. "What would that have to mean. I close the Meloxxramas tab, since with a simple glance I could tell the search was incompatible. Nothing was known about the damn place, it was futile to think another search would provide anything. Seems End War Online had some rich lore backing it all up. The only downfall the game had ever known was set thousands and thousands of years ago when somekind of supernatural destruction gripped the world. "Far within the abyss..." I hum to myself as I continue to read. Was this event the abyss the voice spoke of? This supernatural event? It could only be described as such. Not even Hell matched the description of this... 'Insurrection', as it was called. Black, dark, endless. It all seemed to match the words. "But a shard of the past?" I question myself. "A glance of silver? Where does that tie in?" Because it certainly didn't tie in with the Insurrection. Not one bit. What shard of the past? The Insurrection was the only thing in the past, so was it something from that period of time? And what about a glance of silver? Did the voice mean a sword or something? Maybe a weapon of somekind? So the voice did know what I was looking for after all! ...But... it did say I'd return to Meloxxramas. Alone, but not alone. So cryptic. Others would be with me? But how can you be alone if others are with you? And then this voice spoke of 'pride before power' and vice versa. What did that mean? I had to admit, this voice knew a lot about me, more than I was happy to admit in truth. Some of his statements made absolutely zero sense. Some did, in ways that fascinated me, such as that about the Abyss. I just know I have to delve more into the lore of the game, that's all. Maybe this was a quest of some sorts? But the pride before power part is what I kept repeating in my mind. What did the voice mean with that? It sounded... so ominous. Foreboding. I was almost sure it tied in with the quest, it had to. Why else would you add those lines otherwise? And then again... was this really a quest to begin with? It seemed so... personal. Quests aren't supposed to be personalized, in any game. ...Was I imagining things? --- "...Horseman... you have returned?" I sweep aside my cloak and unveil myself, the hilt of my sword popping out from beneath the shroud's headpiece. "Raiden. Yes, I demand another audience." I say coldly as I stare down the misfigured being I called 'Master' for some time now. Honestly, Raiden was horrific to behold. Iron plating was all that held him together. A twelve foot giant, covered in rotting flesh and long, grey hair falling down his back. His hands were claw-like, and his arms were covered with feathers, barely forming two wings, though the pluming was far too shredded and unkept to fly with. His lower body was made up out of the talons of a hawk, yet more masculin and sharper, the scales coloured plague-green. His entire being pulsated with white and blue lightning, yet dimly. He was terrifying to behold, truly, but then again I did not fear to stand before him. Not once. "And you expect me to allow you back into my domain after you disobeyed my last order?" Raiden's voice crackelled as he leaned in towards me. "...I wouldn't be standing here if you wouldn't have let me in." I hiss back in his face, my right hand tightening as I keep the idea of pulling my sword in the back of my mind. "Correct." Raiden laughed, coughing painfully in between. He folded his arms behind his back, stroking his feathered tail as he peered down at me. "Regardless of your action, I made a sacred vow. One I cannot break, thanks to you. We both know all too well our bond is mutual." "Yet you treat me as a lackey rather than equal." I retort. "The Master and the Student have such a relationship. Isn't that what a hierarchy entails, horseman?" Raiden grinned. I stared at him blankly, keeping my cold stare fixed on him. "I must say, I admire your courage. Overconfident and reckless, yet admirable." Raiden said as he turned away from me. "Meloxxramas is out of your reach for now, as I told you before..." "If it was not for you, I wouldn't even have known of the Necropolis." I said. "If it wasn't for me, you would never have ascended to such power." "So you claim." I say sternly as I peer back up at him. "You promised me more than this. When I asked for power, I expected more from you... seems you were weak after all." Raiden shivered angrily and twisted back to me, his eyes thundering blue and his claws clenched. "Insults do not suit you well, Sylvanas". Raiden spewed back at me with a bouldering voice. "I promised you power, but before you may access it I require... materials...". "I have been doing so for the past months." I mention sharply. "My patience grows thin." Raiden hummed ominously as he kneeled before me. His hand moved towards his iron-plated chest, and soon enough a blue glow forms in the palm of his hands. His other hand reaches out to my chest, though it takes nothing but a finger to extract the same from my chest. "Our aura's are still embers compared to the flames they could grow to be." Raiden said sinisterly. The orbs flicker, casting their lights on both our faces as we observe them. "If I am to teach you my ancient secrets, I require more hearts. Then, and only then, will I be able to share my teachings to full effect." He says as he looks down at my face. "Only then." I hum slowly. "Do not fret, Horseman." Raiden says as the blue orbs dissappear into thin air. "Up till now, I have prepared you for your training. All that I require are these last few items. You know where to find them. Bring them to me, and be empowered beyong measure." I climb back to my feet, and cloak myself once more. "Await my return...I won't be long gone." ---Category:Arc